Notice NOT-OD-18-011
November 3, 2017
Purpose: To protect the credibility of published research, authors are encouraged to publish papers arising from NIH-funded research in reputable journals.
Background: Effective communication of scientific results is an essential part of the scientific process. In support of public access to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research, authors are encouraged to publish their results in reputable journals. The NIH has noted an increase in the numbers of papers reported as products of NIH funding which are published in journals or by publishers that do not follow best practices promoted by professional scholarly publishing organizations. These journals and publishers typically can be identified by several attributes, including:
- misleading pricing (e.g., lack of transparency about article processing charges);
- failure to disclose information to authors;
- aggressive tactics to solicit article submissions;
- inaccurate statements about editorial board membership; and
- misleading or suspicious peer-review processes.
Publications using such practices may call into question the credibility of the research they report.
